EU Study Tour Overview
EU Study Tour and Internship Program
The EU Study Tour is a field school that offers a unique experiential learning opportunity for university students across Canada through a program of guided visits to the major institutions of the European Union and several other places.
About half the students on the EU Study Tour will also participate in the EU Internship Program, wherein they complete an internship at an EU institution or civil society organizations following completion of the EU Study Tour.
The EU Study Tour and Internship Program is offered by the Canadian universities of the Network for European studies (Canada) and the University of Victoria, which has taken on the managing role since 2018.
More about the EU Study Tour
The EU Study Tour always takes place in May and builds on over 20 years of successful tours. It is considered to be an intensive program that attracts strong students that like a challenge. The goal of the EU Study Tour is to offer a fully immersive program that allows students to learn about how the organizations and institutions students visit define, manage, and shape the current events and challenges they face. Each year, the Tour has some recurring themes and special themes.
The recurring themes are the institutional architecture of the EU (e.g. enlargement and reform) and Canada-EU relations.
The special themes for the 2027 EU Study Tour are:
- The changing context of the transatlantic relationship; and
- Democracy and human security.
The 2027 EU Study Tour will take place from Tuesday, May 11 until Friday, May 28. The Tour will feature a “Canadian” and a “European” leg.
The Canadian leg will start in Ottawa, Ontario on Tuesday, May 11. In Ottawa, students will participate in a Model EU and make visits to some diplomatic services and Canadian government institutions. Students will then travel to Belgium the following weekend (arriving in Brussels on Sunday at the latest).
The European leg of the Tour begins in Brussels in the late afternoon of Sunday, May 16. Students will visit key EU institutions, including the European Commission, European Parliament, and Court of Justice of the EU in Brussels and Luxembourg. Visits may also include international organizations and representations, think tanks, civil society organizations, and universities. The EU Study Tour will conclude in Brussels or close-by Leuven on the evening of Friday, May 28 [students check out of their accommodation on the morning of Saturday, May 29].
The students that choose to participate in the EU Internship Program will normally start their internships on Monday, May 31, 2027 and finish them by Wednesday August 04, 2027.
Recent EU Study Tour Itineraries:
2022 EUST Program - Note: This EU Study Tour took place virtually and was followed by the usual in-person internships.
What is the EU Internship Program?
Some participants now live and work in Europe as a result of the networks and experiences they built and gained through the EU Internship Program. Internships are typically just over two months in duration and are only open to EU Study Tour students. While unpaid, these internships are quite a rare opportunity to gain valuable work experience in Europe, often in positions that are normally not available to non-European students!
Internships typically begin in the week following the completion of the study tour and are completed by the beginning of August. Occasionally the timing differs, depending on the flexibility of the employer (as well as the student). For more information, please click the link to get to the EU Internship Program tab.
Some stories and feedback of past students
Read some student testimonials here. Or read Anna’s story, who participated in 2017 or that of Alina, who went in 2019.
Video montage of the 12th EU study tour, held in May 2015.